In this March 26th -released major scientific poll, conducted among more than 2,000 Oregon likely voters, Carpenter edges out establishment-backed Oregon State Representative Knute Buehler by a fraction of a point, 23.1% to 22.9%. Former U.S. Navy officer Greg Wooldridge placed a distant third at 4.2%.

This poll comes a month after a February 26 Triton poll, taken shortly after Wooldridge entered the race, showed Buehler leading Carpenter 31% to 18%, with Wooldridge emerging at 8%.

Carpenter is now trending steadily upwards as his competition falls. “As we had planned from the beginning, we are gaining powerful momentum at this critical point in the race,” said Carpenter, a Bend-area businessman and turn-around specialist running on a Trump/Pence-like platform to Make Oregon Great Again. “Oregon Republican voters share our conservative values,” Carpenter continued. “They want a nominee who is pro-life, pro free-enterprise, tough on immigration, supports the Second Amendment, and who stands with our Republican President, Donald Trump.”

The poll also showed Carpenter performing best of the three candidates one-on-one against incumbent Governor Kate Brown. In this hypothetical matchup, Carpenter defeats Brown by over 5 points, 45.8% to 40.5%. “These numbers dispel the decades-old myth that it takes a moderate Republican who panders to the Portland elite to win,” said Carpenter. “We are winning this primary race by energizing the conservative Republican base and speaking for all of Oregon.”

Press Release: Bend, Oregon. Wednesday, December 27, 2017. Sam Carpenter, who announced his candidacy for the 2018 Oregon Gubernatorial race in late October, has taken the lead in the Republican Primary race.

(Note from Sam: What is surprising to us is not that we’ve gained the lead so soon in this Primary race, but the sheer intensity of the feedback we’ve been getting. What do Oregon Republican voters want? I’ve outlined that concisely in the body of the press release, below. Of course, to create the Oregon Red Trifecta (a Republican governor as well as Republican control of both sides of the legislature), my team immediately needs funds to get the message out, I’ve spent much time talking to voters since September 1st; now it’s time to ask for your help. Use the red DONATE button on the front page of this website. THANK YOU in advance!)

In a match-up with incumbent Democrat governor Kate Brown, Carpenter scores higher than any of his primary opponents, including previous front-runner Knute Buehler.

Carpenter trails governor Kate Brown by slightly over one percent.

Carpenter states, “The surge as illustrated in the independent Zogby poll reflects a viral enthusiasm, almost entirely word-of-mouth, for my Oregon agenda which is dedicated to delivering economic freedom to every-day Oregonians through lower taxes, less regulation, a smaller government footprint, and protection for workers and all tax payers.

“It’s also due to the resurgence of pride in America as a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world, as well as in acknowledging the ultimate minority everywhere: the minority of the individual. And, this is a rejection of American far-left identity politics and the instigation of class warfare. This surge away from Oregon’s current command-and-control leadership is a rejection of Oregon’s current progressive far-left leadership.

“It also illustrates voters’ support for President Trump’s leadership and accomplishments which they feel will lead to decades of national economic growth, a reassumption of international leadership, and a resurgence of American optimism.

“Our goal in this campaign is not only to win the governor’s seat in Salem, but to also gain Republican control of both the House and Senate, creating a true political Oregon Red Trifecta.”

These poll results (go here to see the actual poll) illustrate an important and significant contrast of voter sentiment between me and my leading opponent, Knute Buehler. Here is a political insider’s overview of the results:

“When presented with both positive and critical information on both candidates, there is a considerable shift from Buehler and undecided voters to Carpenter. The move toward Carpenter is quite impressive. The two negative issues focused on Buehler are very damaging indeed to his candidacy and present a wide opening for Carpenter”

Rating President Trump’s Performance, Question 4:

Comment: Nine out of ten Oregon Republican voters support President Trump. This Oregon approval level is consistent with other national polls.

Statewide Name Recognition, Questions 5 and 6:

Poll Data: Carpenter 47%, Knute Buehler 52%

Comment: Just two weeks after announcing his candidacy, Carpenter’s campaign is neck-and-neck in name recognition with Knute Buehler’s. Sam’s candidacy began on October 25th, and since September 1st when he formed his exploratory committee, he has spent only 35K. Buehler announced his candidacy on August 3rd and has expended nearly 300K.

Experience and History: Questions 9 and 10:

Poll Data: More Likely to vote for a candidate based on experience and background. Carpenter, “More Likely” is 68.3%. Buehler, 60.0%.

Comment: When voters are presented with Carpenter’s entrepreneurial/business/non-political background, he scores higher than when voters are presented with Buehler’s medical/political history.

“More Likely” or “Less Likely” to Vote, Questions 11 through 14:

Poll Data: Carpenter’s previous bid in the 2016 U.S. Senate race and his positioning as a political outsider, scored “More Likely” to vote, 37.9% and 57.3% respectively. In contrast, Buehler’s anti-Trump, pro-choice/pro- gay marriage posture, and his anti-parental voting rights voting record scored “more likely” to vote, 15.7% and 14.1%.

Here’s a quick ad-hoc interview that I did last Wednesday, at Lar’s request. We discuss the overall problem of electing moderate Republicans to statewide office, the mistakes that won’t be made this time around, and what has to happen if we’re going to turn the tide from blue to red next November.

In his 2016 U.S. Senate bid, Carpenter was endorsed by former U.S. Senate candidates Monica Wehby and Jason Conger, as well as The Oregonian and Bend Bulletin newspapers.

Carpenter says:

“I confidently predict an enormous political and economic turn-around for Oregon as we leave behind the current failed progressive far-left leadership of Governor Kate Brown, and move forward to an executive branch that is laser-focused on serving the people of Oregon through a smaller, much more efficient government machine. In fulfilling its established obligations and duties, my administration of this streamlined government will have two special focuses: to assertively facilitate a private sector business environment that allows a robust economy to emerge, and sharply cut back government interference in our personal lives.

“Yes, I share President Donald Trump’s vision of a society truly in tune and serving the needs of regular Americans, not the needs of the intertwined cabal of big government, big business, and big finance.

“I’ll fight to put the power back where it belongs, in the hands of Oregon’s citizens.

“But there is much more to this than seating a Republican governor in Salem. I am also calling for ‘The 2018 Oregon Red Trifecta,’ in which both sides of our legislature will operate under Republican leadership. In this movement, the powerful winds of change are at our backs: nationally, there are now a total of 26 Red trifecta state governments, and just six Democrat. There were four new red trifecta state governments elected in 2016. It’s also notable that 70% of our governorships are now Republican.

“I am running on the Republican ticket, but this candidacy and the Red Trifecta movement are decidedly non-partisan. No matter individual political, economic or social proclivities, we understand that our decades-long economic doldrums are due to progressive far-left leadership’s largess, inefficiency, and over-reach.

“And Oregonians are tired of the progressive far-left’s relentless chipping away at the institutions and freedoms upon which this country was founded. This frustration falls across all political, socio-economic, and philosophical boundaries.

“I’m a fixer and a builder and have a special talent for getting inside a broken organization, quickly spotting what isn’t right, and then immediately proceeding toward a simple solution that benefits all concerned. It’s my profession.

“My personal background is rural small-town, working class, and I know what it’s like to manage a hard-hat construction crew, operate heavy equipment, run a chain saw, fix a fence-line, and fight forest fires on-the-ground. Those are my roots. But since the age of 35 I’ve been a multi-company CEO, author of a best-selling business book, and a business consultant/trouble-shooter, having assisted in the repair of over 500 small and medium-sized businesses across the country, the majority of which were on the edge of failure but now stand healthy and vibrant.

I also operate a small 501C3 international non-profit in east Asia and have business dealings in Western and Eastern Europe. For Oregon, I understand the importance of international trade and tourism.

“And I have a special desire to oversee a special Civilian Conservation Corps-like project, employing local workers, in which our 29,000,000 acres of forests are cleaned up and then cultivated on a sustainable basis, similar to how forests have been managed in Europe and in the southeast U.S. for the last 50 years. And with this huge project, we’ll not just end the mega-wildfire threat, but also bring rural Oregon back to economic life.

“Yes, of course we have the capacity to assist those who are truly in need. We will never, ever, let these citizens down.

“I am pro-life, rely on God’s wisdom, revere our military and first-responders, love our flag, and always stand for our national anthem. I wish for a limited government based on our U.S. Constitution. And I will always put our own citizens first.

“In Salem and in DC, government is to be our servant. Not our master.

“With ​passion​, I look forward to the task ahead, intensely working with our legislature to bring our government under control and focused where it belongs, on the well-being of Oregonians just like you and me: Oregonians who show up to work on time, who pay the taxes, who raise the children, who fight for our freedom and safety both home and abroad, and who carefully manage their own local communities.”

Bend entrepreneur, CEO, business consultant and author Sam Carpenter has filed a Statement of Organization for Candidate Committee with the Secretary of State’s office, to consider candidacy in the upcoming 2018 gubernatorial contest.

In 2016 Carpenter ran for U.S. Senate in Oregon and was endorsed in the Primary election by The Oregonian and the Bend Bulletin. He was also endorsed by 2014 U.S. Senate candidates Jason Conger and Monica Wehby. Carpenter was narrowly defeated in that 2016 race.

Carpenter, a Republican, states, “I am considering this candidacy for governor because the hardworking families of our state deserve a leader who best represents their on-the-ground needs. Specifically, a candidate who embraces a pro-life, pro-small business, pro-jobs, school choice, controlled immigration, and limited-government/free market platform; a political outsider who will not be swayed by large corporate donors, and who won’t be intimidated by the Oregon progressive far-left faction which has dominated our state politics for too many years.

Carpenter continues, “I am troubled by the enormous debt with which we Oregon citizens are burdened, job-killing high taxes, over-regulation of small business, unfettered illegal immigration/sanctuary city policies, public sector union over-lording, pervasive rural poverty due to radical governmental strictures on our natural resources, and to that end, the escalating forest destruction by disease and wildfire due to state and federal policies of hands-off, non-management. (Look around right now: Oregon is on fire, and it’s not due to global climate change…).

“And I’m disappointed that the declared and rumored candidates currently in the field have not supported President Trump and his vision of economic growth and government reform. Therefore, as an early endorser and continued supporter of our President’s national agenda, it makes sense for me to assertively foster those concepts right here in Oregon.”

“But this is not just about winning a Republican governor’s seat. I am calling for an ‘Oregon Red Trifecta’ in which both sides of the legislature also come under Republican control. Nationally, Oregon’s Red Trifecta will be a cultural-capstone to the steady grass-roots political gains of the last eight years. If I choose to run, my candidacy will be wholly dedicated to this purpose.”
Carpenter says he will make a final decision regarding candidacy by October.